Letter from a Broken Heart
by TheDCStar
Summary: When Simon helps Jeanette with her homework, what starts as a normal study date turns into the discovery of a letter...a letter of untold pain and torment...a letter written by a heartbroken chipette. What events will unfold? ONE SHOT! Read and Review!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Chipettes, or anything associated with them.**

**Author's Note: Oh…uh…hehe…hey everybody…has it been four months already? Wow! Hehe (gulp)…I know what you're all thinking. Why haven't I been updating anything? Well, would you believe that summer brings out the worst case of lazy syndrome within me, and that I've been suffering from some major writer's block? Yeah, it kind of sticks, but I've tried my best to push through and give you guys something great to read (I hope it's great). Anyway, I know I said I would try to finish one of my stories this summer. That plan is still in action, but it might not be finished until later on in the year. For now, enjoy this one shot, which is currently the longest one shot I've ever written!**

On a bright and sunny spring day, a small, bright red colored finch perched herself on the branch of a tree and sang a sweet tune that carried through the entire neighborhood. As the finch continued to tweet her song, a second little bird, whose feathers were a darker shade of red, flew by and perched himself next to the other and began to sing along with her. Then, carrying on the song, the two birds took off together, flying past a bright white, two-story house with a red roof and window shutters, concrete walkway and steps leading to a white front door, a well-trimmed front yard, and blooming flower bushes surrounding the house.

Zooming in on the white house, people may think that there was nothing interesting or special about the seemingly normal abode, but of course, they could only see its outer appearance. Taking a glimpse inside, there was a much more exciting discovery to be made. The house wasn't home to just anybody. It was the home of the popular songwriter David Seville and the even more popular musical act The Chipmunks.

Looking through the inside of the house, each member of the Seville family was absorbed in their own individual activities. Dave, in his music room, sat by the piano and played different chords and notes in an attempt to give him some inspiration for his next song. After playing through a melody he made up off the top of his head, he gave a quick nod, grabbed the pencil he had placed behind his ear, and wrote down the chords and notes he had played on a piece of sheet music. Smiling at his handy work, he put the pencil back behind his ear and brought his fingers back to the piano keys, playing through his made up melody once more.

Theodore, the now older and only slightly chubby chipmunk wearing blue jeans, a green t-shirt and black tennis shoes, stood in front of the stove with a huge pot of water boiling on one side and a small pot of meat sauce on the other. He was making spaghetti for dinner that evening, but he was running a little behind on cooking the noodles. Quickly taking the box of noodles in his hand, he opened it and dumped its contents into the boiling water. Then, throwing the box over his shoulder, he grabbed a spoon, scooped up a little bit of the meat sauce, and tasted it.

He smacked his lips three times before saying, "It needs just a little more oregano."

As Theodore was hard at work in the kitchen, Alvin, now taller and muscular wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a red, unbuttoned, short-sleeved plaid shirt, beige flip flops, and his traditional red cap, was hard at work being lazy in the living room. He sat on the light blue couch with his legs propped up onto the small brown mahogany table, watching one his favorite television shows all while eating a bag of potato chips. As a hilarious part came on, Alvin began laughing like a wild hyena, slapping his thigh crazily.

"Oh, man," he said between chuckles. "That part gets me every time!"

At the same moment Alvin wiped the tears that had formed from laughing so hard from his eyes, the telephone suddenly began to ring. Alvin looked to his right and watched as the little light on the phone blinked wildly.

"Alvin! Could you get that?" Dave shouted from the other room. "I'm a little busy!"

Rolling his eyes and putting his chips on the table, Alvin replied in a fake cheery tone, "Sure, Dave!"

Stretching out his right arm and grunting from the "physical labor" being put forth, Alvin reached out for the phone. Once the phone was in his hand, he pressed the "talk" button and brought it to his ear.

"Seville residence," he answered smoothly with a smile on his face. "This is the awesome Alvin Seville speaking."

"Um…hi, Alvin," a light, timid voice responded over the phone.

The smile on Alvin's face rapidly disappeared as he took his feet off the table and said sourly, "Oh, it's just you. What do you want, Jeanette?"

"No need to be rude," Jeanette spoke up slightly irritated, "and I would like to speak to your brother, Simon. Is he available?"

Alvin rolled his eyes again, scoffed silently, and turned his head to look into the open area leading to all the rooms on the first floor and the stairs, which led to all the bedrooms. He got up slowly and looked into the room, his blue eyes roaming to one specific place: the door leading to the basement, otherwise known to the Seville's as Simon's Laboratory.

The mischievous chipmunk knew his "know-it-all" brother would be down there today. That morning, Simon had informed everyone within hearing distance that he would be in his lab for the remainder of the day, working on his latest scientific discovery, which gave Alvin the perfect opportunity to say, "You're finally going to discover you have no life?" Simon's only response to his older brother's mockery before he locked himself away in the basement was a sarcastic laugh.

"Hmm…" Alvin smirked as a sinister idea floated around in his head.

"Um…Hello?" Jeanette said from the other end of the phone. "Alvin, are you still there?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm here," he answered, an evil grin still plastered on his face. "I'll get Simon for you, Jeanette. Wait just one minute."

"Alvin, I know that tone. Don't…"

With a maniacal chuckle, Alvin took the phone away from his ear, not even bothering to listen to Jeanette's warning, and crept his way towards the basement door. While he plotted a way to make his younger brother angry, a very important and very scientific breakthrough was underway deep within the concrete, soundproof basement.

Peaking inside the bleak, boring room, Simon, now much older, taller, and muscular like his older brother wearing blue jeans, white sneakers, a white button-up dress shirt, and a dark and light blue checkered vest underneath a white lab coat, stood in front of a huge wooden table where a full fledged chemistry set had been set up. He quickly jotted down some notes in his composition notebook regarding the steps of the experiment he had completed as beakers, flasks and test tubes of bubbling chemicals sat to his left. His safety goggles were pushed up onto his head, matting up his combed hair, and his yellow cleaning gloves, once two sizes too big, now fit him nicely.

"Yes, perfect," Simon said as he used his wrist to push his blue-rimmed glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "Just one more step and I will have proven another theory."

After writing down his last bit of data, the bespectacled chipmunk turned back to the colorfully detailed chemistry set. He adjusted his safety goggles back down over his eyes and took a test tube of a blue chemical in one hand while taking a beaker of a red liquid in the other. His shifty eyes looked back and forth between the two liquids. He knew he had to be careful with this last procedure. If too much of the blue chemical mixed together with the red, it would produce an unstable chemical reaction, causing a messy explosion.

"Okay, it's time to focus," he said to himself.

Slowly, Simon began to tip the test tube, causing the blue liquid to flow towards the glass tube's opening. He squinted his left eye slightly as his lips pressed together to form a straight line.

"Carefully," he whispered to himself. "Carefully."

Suddenly, a loud banging came from the basement door along with an obnoxious voice saying, "Calling all nerds! Calling all nerds! Anyone down there?"

Upon hearing the crazy noise, Simon tightened his grip on both the beaker and test tube. All of his previous concentration and thoughts vanished from his mind as his face cringed into an unhappy, annoyed expression. He looked up towards the steps that led to the ground floor of the house with an angry scowl on his face. After all, it didn't take an Einstein to figure out who was the cause of the infuriating banging.

"Ugh…" he thought out loud, placing test tube and beaker back in their appropriate places. "Looks like _someone_ doesn't understand the meaning of the phrase 'Do Not Disturb.'"

After making sure the chemicals were secure, the irritated chipmunk stomped his way up the stairs up to the basement door, mumbling petulantly about how people had no respect for scientific research. Reaching the door, he grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, and quickly yanked open the door. He immediately glared down at the red clad chipmunk staring back at him, taking in the look of wicked satisfaction plastered on his face.

"Going for a new look, bro?" Alvin asked with a smirk, swiftly pointing at Simon's face. "I think it works for you. It helps bring out your true nerdy self."

At first, Simon didn't understand where his brother's comment had come from. It took him a full five seconds to realize he was still wearing his huge safety goggles. He pulled them off his face at once and continued glaring at his ignorant brother.

"What do you want, Alvin?" he asked. "I'm very busy down here, and I have no time for you stupidity."

"Whoa, chill, 'Bill Nye the science guy'," Alvin said defensively, raising his free hand up in the air. "I just wanted to tell you that you have a phone call."

Alvin held up his other hand, revealing the telephone and showing his brother he wasn't lying about the phone call. However, all Simon did was stare at it unbelievingly. After about ten seconds, he looked back at his brother and glared down at him again.

"Okay, let me make sure I understand," Simon began, anger creeping into his voice. "You banged on the door and distracted me from my experiment, just to tell me I had a phone call?"

"Yep," Alvin responded with a fake smile. "Maybe now you can start having a real life."

Simon face palmed, making a clapping sound as his gloved hand made contact with his face and groaned loudly, completely upset with his brother's stupid antics.

"No need to thank me, bro," Alvin continued, giving a quick wave of his hand.

"Alvin, you knew I was going to be busy all day," Simon furiously spat. "Why on earth didn't you take a message?"

"Because it's more fun to make you angry. It makes your eyes bulge out of your skull in the funniest way. You're doing it right now."

When his brother began chuckling, the blue clad chipmunk started rubbing his temple, trying to get rid of the headache he felt coming into his head.

"_Please_, just take a message," he said angrily, "leave me to my scientific endeavors, and _don't_ bother me again."

Ceasing his laughter and shrugging his shoulders, Alvin's only response was, "Fine, if that's what you want, Si."

"It _is_ what I want. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Without delay, Simon began closing the door as Alvin turned around on his heels and said, "Too bad. I guess I'll just have to tell Jeanette you're too busy being a nerd to take her call."

Upon hearing that name, Simon forced opened the door again and stared at his brother skeptically. His eyes grew to the size of tennis balls and his mouth gaped. He held his breath and his heart pounded hard and fast against his ribcage. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and slowly rolled down the side of his face. Wiping the liquid from his cheeks with the back of his hand, he wasn't very baffled by his body's reaction to hearing the chipette's name. In fact, he had grown quite used to it.

From the first day they met, Simon knew he was very infatuated with Jeanette not only by the fact she was a singing chipmunk like himself, but also by the fact she loved science and learning almost as much as he did, and over the years, he became very interested in her and even grew to like her as more than a friend. It wasn't until exactly one year ago that he realized that he had fallen in love with Jeanette, but at that time, he couldn't tell her his feelings. At that time, Jeanette was already dating someone else.

Jeanette had met Jeremy on the first day of high school, and for her, it was crush at first sight. According to her, he was the most loving, caring, sweetest, kindest smartest, and most handsome boy in the entire world, with short dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and dark, soft skin. Every day, all the purple clad chipette talked about was the older boy, saying things like "Jeremy's so cute" or "Jeremy's amazing," and the more she talked about him, the more she got on everyone's, including her sister's and Simon's, nerves.

After months of crushing on him, Jeanette had finally gotten her chance when she learned that Jeremy liked her a lot as well. Though a little stunned, she didn't hesitate accepting to be his girlfriend. To her, it was the best day of her life, but to another chipmunk, it was one of the worst.

Once Jeanette and Jeremy became an item and once he learned he loved her, Simon couldn't help but feel jealous of Jeremy, or the "loser" as he had nicknamed him. His chest ached whenever he saw the "loser" drape his arm around Jeanette's shoulders, and envious rage would run through his veins when he saw him rub the small of the chipette's back. Seeing them together all the time really made him feel nauseous. He just didn't trust the guy for one second. Of course, he wanted to be happy for his best friend, but the uneasy feeling in the back of his mind was like sticking a needle into a pincushion. It just wouldn't go away.

Unfortunately for Jeanette, the relationship took a turn for the worst. A month ago, just days before their one year anniversary, Jeremy had given Jeanette a poorly thought out note before class basically telling her he felt nothing for her anymore, and the depressed chipette had been suffering from a broken heart since. When Simon learned what Jeremy had done, he became very enraged, angry, and sad. He was sad because his hunch was right on and Jeanette had gotten hurt, and he was angry because the jerk didn't even have the guts to break her heart face to face.

After the break up, the urge to tell Jeanette his feelings of affection for her grew more and more each day, but he knew he couldn't tell her yet. The bespectacled chipette still had difficulty getting over her loser ex-boyfriend, and Simon understood how upset she was and knew she needed time to heal. The last thing he wanted was to seem quick into pushing her into another relationship. He was a patient chipmunk though, and he could wait for her forever if he had to. For now, all he could do was try his best to comfort her and make her feel better.

"What a shame," Alvin went on, interrupting Simon of his thoughts. "It sounded like she really wanted to talk to you, too. Oh, well. I'll just tell her you're too obsessed with your weird experiments to give her any attention.

As Alvin slowly brought the phone back up to his ear, Simon lunged out like a wild animal on the hunt for prey and shouted, "No, wait!"

Alvin didn't even get the chance to utter a single word as his younger brother tackled him to the hard wooden floor, knocking the breath completely out of him. Unable to regain his composure, the phone was quickly yanked out of his hand, leaving him stumped and confused. It was when he tried to stand back on his feet that he realized he couldn't. He looked above him to find Simon sitting right on his back, keeping him from moving off the floor.

"Hey!" Alvin groaned loudly. "What am I, your sitting stool? Get off my back!"

Ignoring the red clad chipmunk's words, Simon brought the phone to his ear and answered, "Hello? Simon Seville speaking."

"Oh…um…hey Simon," Jeanette's nervous voice echoed through his ear.

A smile spread across Simon's face as he listened to Jeanette's sweet greeting. She always found a way to make him smile without even realizing her actions. To bring a smile to his face, all it ever took was a simple "hello" or even just a small gesture of recognition from the cute chipette, and just being in her presence was a blessing and enough to keep him happy for days at a time.

"Hey, Jean," he greeted happily.

"Is everything alright over there?" she asked timidly. "I thought I heard yelling?"

"Hey, are you deaf?" Alvin shouted harshly. "I said get off…"

Without hesitation, Simon covered his older brother's mouth before he could even finish his sentence, leaving him mumbling into his gloved hand. He kept his bottom firmly on top of Alvin as he wriggled and thrashed about in an effort to free himself of Simon's trap.

"Oh, it was nothing," Simon replied, struggling to keep his balance. "Probably just some static or something. Anyway, what do I owe the pleasure of you calling, Jeanette?"

"Well…" Jeanette began tentatively, "I hate to bother you, Simon. After all, I'm sure you're really busy with something else and…"

"No, no, not at all. I'm not up to anything right now. What do you need?"

With Simon's hand still over his mouth, Alvin was unable to make a smart comment at his brother's little white lies. All he could do was roll his eyes.

"Well…I really didn't understand the Biology lecture yesterday," Jeanette continued, "and I was wondering if you could help me understand it better. That way, I can get the homework Mr. Lassiter assigned us completed before class Monday."

Simon's smile grew bigger when Jeanette told him she needed his help. Of course, he was always willing to help her no matter what, but he also looked for any excuse to go over to the Miller's house and spend time with the purple clad chipette.

"Sure Jean," Simon over excitedly said. "I'd be happy to help you. I'll be over in a few minutes, okay?"

"Oh, Simon, you don't have to do that," Jeanette protested. "I'm mean you can just…"

"Trust me, Jeanette. The lecture isn't easy to explain over the phone. We need to talk about it in person."

Lying on the floor, Alvin had completely given up on freeing himself and, again, gave a roll of his eyes at how desperate Simon was acting. After all, it was pretty obvious that his younger brother liked the four-eyed chipette _a lot_.

"Oh, well…if you insist," Jeanette answered. "I guess I'll see you in a bit."

"Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes," Simon informed her. "I'll talk to you soon. Bye, Jean."

"Bye, Simon."

Simon kept the phone to his ear until he heard the "click" indicating that Jeanette had hung up. As the busy tone sounded on the other end, he brought the phone away from his ear and pressed the "off" button without any hesitation. Then, still holding the phone in his left hand, he pulled up his yellow glove using the hand that had been covering his brother's mouth and looked at his digital wristwatch. His eyes grew big once again when he saw he only had nine minutes to get to the Miller's house.

"Hallelujah, I can breathe again," Alvin praised when Simon removed his gloved hand. "What were you trying to do, suffocate me?"

The red clad chipmunk looked up at his younger brother, irritated that the nerd had managed to pin him down to the floor, but Simon didn't even acknowledge the comment or the glare. Instead, he held the slender black phone in front of Alvin's face and said, "Here, put that away. I don't have much time, and I still need to prepare."

His grip loosened, and the phone dropped from the bespectacled chipmunk's hand. Alvin, swiftly freeing his right hand from under his body, caught it in his palm and stared straight at the object for five seconds, completely bewildered by Simon's command. Then, he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from him, and looking back up, he found Simon sprinting back down to the basement.

After slowly getting to his feet, Alvin walked over to the partially open basement door and cupped his ear near the open space between the door and doorway, trying to hear what his nerdy brother was doing. His ears picked up the sound of clinking and scratching glass against even more glass as well as really obnoxious squeaking. To him, it sounded as if someone were putting corks into glass bottles.

The red-capped chipmunk brought his cupped ear closer to the doorway when, all of a sudden, it became very quiet. There was no clinking or squeaking…just eerie and deafening silence. Arching his eyebrow, he backed away from the door, a little freaked out by the creepy stillness coming from below.

Looking back at the phone in his hand, he said to himself, "First, he makes me his chair. Now, he thinks I'm going to let him order me around like a slave or something? Pfft…no way, hosé."

Just as Alvin finished his sentence, Simon burst through the door, unbuttoning the last button of his white lab coat as he did so. Removing the coat as fast as possible, he balled it up and threw it right at his older brother. Falling in mid air, the white fabric unraveled out of the ball and, as it met Alvin's face, immediately caught onto his head.

"Hey!" Alvin yelled as he struggled to get the piece of cloth off his head. "I'm not going to be your clothes hanger either, four-eyes!"

Simon paid no heed to the harsh remark as he ran towards the stairs leading to the second floor of the house. He jogged up the stairs, stomping forcefully onto the wooden steps, and, by the time he reached the top level, Alvin had freed himself from the white "net," his cap on only the right side of his head and his hair sticking up on the left side. As he quickly balled up the coat and the phone into one huge mass, his brow furrowed angrily and a scowl crossed his lips. Furiously, he threw the white ball down to the ground and made his way towards the steps.

"Okay, he's really starting to tick me off," he hissed.

Once he reached the stairs, the red clad chipmunk climbed every other step in an effort to get to the top faster. Jumping onto the top step and entering the hallway that led to all of the bedrooms, he looked down either side of the hallway, finding no trace of the geek he had no choice but to call his brother.

"Where did that nerd bomber go?" he asked himself.

When he finished his question, the bespectacled chipmunk leapt out of the bathroom at the end of the left side of the hallway and ran past Alvin in a flash, causing the red clad chipmunk to temporarily lose his balance. After steadying his feet, Alvin angrily looked in the direction Simon had taken off, shaking his head as he started walking towards the end of the right side of the hallway.

"Ugh…" he grumbled. "Wait until I get my hands on him."

His sandals clapped loudly against the floor as he made his way towards Simon's bedroom. He had reached his destination and had started walking through the doorway when a pair of pants suddenly came flying out of the room. Surprised, he moved out the way and placed his back against the wall as the pants fell to the ground.

"What the…" he thought out loud as he stared at the item of clothing,

Alvin looked back at his brother's room, hearing the rustling of clothing as well as very heavy breathing. He walked cautiously closer to the doorway until he was able to poke his head into the room. He peaked inside and was shocked to find that the room, clean and tidy only an hour ago, was now a complete mess, almost as if a tornado had run through it. Various articles of clothing and shoes laid all over the wooden floor, open books with bent pages laid askew on the blue sheeted bed, which sat horizontally across from Alvin, and other items covered every inch of his dressers.

Alvin raised his eyebrow as he looked around the room. He found it very odd that his neat freak brother would actually mess up his own room without having any real reason to do so. His eyes continued to shift quickly in all directions just as his ears picked up a sound coming from his left. He turned his head in the direction of the sound, which turned out to be Simon's closet, just as a light blue shirt came flying towards his face. He tried to duck out of the way but wasn't quick enough. The shirt landed right on top of his head, and the red clad chipmunk let out a frustrated sigh.

"Again, my brother thinks I'm a clothes hanger," he mumbled to himself as he pulled the shirt off his head and threw them next to the pants.

Looking back at Simon's closet, Alvin watched as a large figure, Simon, emerge from the small space. The bespectacled chipmunk carried a different colored shirt in each hand as he sped his way towards his dresser mirror, which sat next to his closet. He looked at his reflection and brought the shirts up to his neck, mumbling inaudibly to himself. He looked between to the two shirts, debating on which one he should wear to the Miller's house, because he knew if he was going to see Jeanette, he had to look his best. His brows furrowed in worry and indecision, still unsure of what he wanted to wear.

"Ugh!" he groaned, throwing the shirts down to the floor. "I only have seven minutes to get ready! There's no way I can make myself look nice for Jeanette in time!"

Alvin scoffed, leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, and said, "Oh, little Si Si's done it, ladies and gentlemen. He's now realized that his entire wardrobe is a major fashion disaster. It took him years to figure it out but he finally did. I'm so proud."

As Alvin pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, Simon flinched at the sound of his older brother's voice calling him by the nickname he couldn't stand to be called. His face cringed, his lips pressed into a hard line, and his hands balled into fists. Though the middle chipmunk felt it deep in his belly, he repressed the urge to turn around and say something sarcastic back to him. After all, he didn't have time for Alvin's foolishness.

"I mean honestly," Alvin went on, "who wears sweater vests, dress shirts, and dress pants anymore? The answer to that question…is you. You're one of the only people I know with a closet full of geeky clothes. Really, Si Si, when are you going to start dressing cool for a change?"

Feeling the blood rush to his face, Simon's body tensed even more in an effort to keep his anger under control instead of letting it overwhelm him. Alvin, still teasing his little brother, hadn't even noticed how hard he was pushing Simon's buttons. He just kept making fun of him and enjoyed watching the blue clad chipmunk's face turn the darkest shade of red. He knew he had to take his teasing up a notch, and he had a pretty strong feeling he knew how he could do it.

"You really want to impress Jeanette?" he said with an evil grin. "Why don't you try dressing more like a normal person, instead of Steve Urkel? After all, no girl would ever want to be seen with a guy who dresses like you."

With that, Simon snapped, fiercely turning around and yelling, "Will you just mind your own business, Alvin! What I wear is none of your concern so just shut up and leave me alone!"

As rage ran hot through his veins, the bespectacled chipmunk looked back at his reflection in the mirror, leaving Alvin shocked by his sudden outburst. His breathing was ragged and heavy, and he started taking deep breaths to help calm his heart rate. Once his breathing returned to normal, his hard expression lightened and his fists relaxed at his sides.

When the anger completely left his system, he looked down at his feet, feeling ashamed of himself for his out of the blue explosion. He didn't mean to be so cruel. He was just under a lot of pressure, and the last thing he needed was his pain in the neck brother making fun of him. Though, he couldn't help but feel that Alvin, for once, had a point. There was no way Jeanette, the most amazing girl he's ever known, felt the same way for him. He was too much of a nerd to be seen as boyfriend material, so why would she give him the time of day?

Watching Simon's face slip out of its infuriated state, Alvin knew that he had made a big mistake. Usually, he liked making his brother angry, but somehow, this situation felt different. After all, Simon never yelled back at him unless something was bothering him. He could feel in the pit of his stomach that he had touched his brother's sore spot, and another feeling he hated getting and knew all too well, otherwise known as guilt, made its way into his chest, causing it to ache.

Using his shoulder to push himself off the doorframe, Alvin let out a long sigh, walked over to Simon and placed his hand on his shoulder. His younger brother flinched from his touch but didn't pull away. The red-capped chipmunk put his entire joking aside as he began to speak, for he knew his brother needed more encouragement and less ridicule.

"Hey, come on, bro," he said whole-heartedly. "I was just messing around with you. You know I go overboard with it sometimes. I didn't mean what I said about your clothes…or what I said about no girl ever wanting to date you."

Releasing the breath he had been holding for a full minute, Simon looked back up at his reflection as he said, "I know how you are, Alvin…it's not your fault. I'm just…I'm just a chicken."

"You're not chicken, Si…"

"Yes I am…I really am…I've had plenty of opportunities to tell Jeanette how I feel about her, but all of those times, I had to remind myself that she wanted to be with someone else. If had just told her sooner…before she ever met…"

Simon paused and let out another long breath, unsure of what to say anymore. To be truthful, he felt sort of awkward, seeing as it was rare that he would confide to his older brother about his problems. To say that he felt uncomfortable about it was an understatement, but he didn't really have much of a choice. Whom could he turn to? Alvin was the only one in the room at the moment, and he had to tell somebody his feelings. Shrugging off Alvin's hand, he took in another deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I know that you know that I like Jeanette, and I mean _really_ like her. Heck, I'm 110 percent sure I'm in love with her," he continued, "and now that she's not with anyone, I just…I really _really _want to tell her how I feel…but I don't want to be pushy after what that loser did to her. I know she needs time to completely heal, but…I really want her to know that there's someone better for her than that jerk she wasted a year with."

With a small smile, Alvin replied, "And by 'someone,' you really mean you."

Simon turned to look at his brother then turned it back towards the mirror to stare at his reflection again before saying, "Well…yes."

"Hey, it's okay," Alvin said, patting his brother's shoulder blade. "It's hard not being able to tell the girl you really like that you like her. Don't ask me how I know. I just do, okay?"

Simon rolled his eyes at that comment. He knew why Alvin had said not to ask him how he understood his feelings. After all, Simon wasn't the only chipmunk who had a huge crush on one of the chipettes. Knowing his older brother admired Brittany from afar was definitely not a secret to him, but of course, the red clad chipmunk denied the claim every time he was asked about it.

"Look, man, I know how much you _like_ like Jeanette," he continued saying. "I mean, you spend whatever free time you have with her, you two always seem to be together all the time, and you two really enjoy each other's company. You have a lot in common with her, too. Examples, you're both nerdy, geeky, annoyingly smart, 'know-it-alls,' teacher's pets…"

All of a sudden, as Alvin counted off Simon and Jeanette's similarities with his fingers, a strained cough interrupted his long list. He looked from his fingers back up at the bespectacled chipmunk to find an annoyed expression on his face. He could almost see the question "Would you just get to the point?" written all over his forehead.

Chuckling nervously and scratching the back of his head, Alvin quickly said, "Sorry… Anyway, what I'm saying is you two will be together when the time comes. You just have to be patient until it happens."

When he had finished his sentence, the red-capped chipmunk turned his head towards the doorway as if checking to see if anyone were listening in on their conversation. Simon watched his brother's actions with a confused look. He couldn't help but wonder why Alvin was acting so oddly.

When Alvin turned back around, he cupped his hand to Simon's ear and whispered, "But between you and me, I think Jeanette secretly has a thing for you."

Simon arched his eyebrow as he pulled away from Alvin and stared at him skeptically. Jeanette? Having a "thing" for him? That was just incomprehensible for him to believe. He was positive that the chipette only saw him as a really good friend, even a best friend. At least, that's what she made it seem like to him.

"What makes you say that?" he questioned.

"It's a strong feeling I have," Alvin answered leaning his arm on Simon's shoulder. "That, and I've been seeing her blush like crazy for the past couple of weeks every time you came close to her."

A light shade of red came across Simon's cheeks as he asked, "Really?"

"Yes, sir," the older chipmunk replied without any doubt in his tone. "This is my opinion on the matter. I think she's been thinking about the possibility of being with you, but she's still unsure whether she _like_ like's you. She has just gotten out of a relationship after all and doesn't want to risk getting hurt again."

Simon listened intently to Alvin's "theory," a part of him thinking it was completely ridiculous but the other thinking that nothing was ever impossible. Who knew for sure? Maybe Jeanette really did have feelings for him but was just too shy and scared to tell him. The bespectacled chipmunk shook his head lightly, ridding himself of the thought. It didn't matter whether she felt the same for him or not. All he wanted was for Jeanette to be happy again.

"Of course, it's just a thought I have," Alvin finished. "It's either that or she's desperate to find another man and you're the closest thing she's got. Although I'm not sure if I'd consider you a man."

Simon rolled his eyes again and chuckled. This time, he didn't take Alvin's banter to heart. To be honest, he actually felt a little better and was glad that his brother was there to listen to him. He guessed he was pretty lucky to have a big brother that cared about him a lot, even if he was annoying and arrogant most of the time.

The blue clad chipmunk smiled as he playfully pushed Alvin's arm off his shoulder and looked down at his watch. He gasped when he realized what time it was. He only had four minutes to get to the Miller's house, and he really didn't want to disappoint Jeanette by being late. Turning around and walking over to his bed, he picked up his open biology book, slapped it shut, and placed it under his right arm.

"I better get going," he said, turning swiftly on his heels. "I don't want to keep Jeanette waiting."

Keeping his eyes on the doorway, Simon, with a determined look, began making his way out of his bedroom. He knew he had to move fast if he wanted to get to the Miller's on time. However, after taking only three steps, Alvin grabbed him from behind, dug his fingernails into his shoulders, and pulled him into a tight headlock. Simon yelped as Alvin's arm encircled his neck, and he shook his upper body about, struggling to escape from the red-capped chipmunk's grasp.

It was no use, for the red clad chipmunk had a good, strong hold on him. Simon soon grew tired, his body going limp from exhaustion inside his brother's grip; his breathing heavy and ragged. When he shifted his eyes to glare at his capturer, he found Alvin staring down at him, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"Alvin, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, still trying to catch his breath. "Are you trying to choke me to death?

"Of course not, bro," Alvin replied with an evil sneer. " Just consider this payback for sitting on me earlier and also consider this my way of wishing you luck with Jeanette."

The blue clad chipmunk continued to stare up towards Alvin, wondering what kind of horrible act he had in store for him _this_ time. Simon was about to respond to Alvin's comment when, all of a sudden, the red-capped chipmunk brought his fist down, hitting his little brother right on top of his head. He dug his hand hard against the bespectacled chipmunk's scalp and gave him a very painful noogie. As Alvin did this, Simon squirmed in the headlock, frantic to get away from the agonizing torture being inflicted upon him.

Finally, after nearly half a minute had past, Simon finally freed himself and quickly slipped out of the clutches of his evil brother. He stood up straight and fixed his dress shirt and vest, and used his free hand to comb his fingers through his thin hair, hoping to make it look at least a little bit decent before he left for the Miller's.

"Gee, thanks, big brother," Simon sarcastically said as he continued glaring at the red-capped chipmunk and finished putting his hair back in place.

"No worries, little brother, and now that that's out of the way," Alvin said, clapping his hands together as if he were wiping something off them, "get out of here and have some fun, but not too much fun, you rascal."

With that, Alvin gave his brother a quick wink, and in return, Simon rolled his eyes as he made he way out of the room. He jogged down the long hallway until he reached the stairwell. From there, he sat down on the railing and slid his way down to the ground floor. Reaching the bottom, he jumped off the railing and landed gracefully on his feet.

Jogging towards the door, he shouted, "I'm going over to the Miller's, Dave! I'll be back soon!"

"Alright!" Dave shouted back, slightly distracted by the new song he was working on. "Don't stay out too late, and call when you're getting ready to come home!"

"I will! Bye, Dave!"

Closing the door behind him, Simon looked around the neighborhood, admiring how nice it looked as the sun shined down upon it. Taking in a long breath and letting it out through his mouth, he looked back down at his watch, seeing that he only had two minutes to meet up with Jeanette. To save himself time, he jumped down the steps, ran down the walkway and onto the sidewalk. He turned right and headed towards the Miller's house, knowing that if he just kept running, he would make it in record time.

After running for a short time, he slowed down to a walk as Miss Miller's house came into close view. He let his breath catch back up as he looked at the brightly decorated abode. The Miller household was only a little bit smaller than the Seville house in width and almost resembled a castle, for a small part of the bright red roof had a cone-shaped structure. The rest of the house was painted a dark shade of yellow and had many white-trimmed windows. A white gate opened up to a cobblestone walkway with small shrubs, which led up to a small set of white steps. The steps led to a porch, which had a porch swing built to fit at least two people.

As his eyes glazed over the red and yellow house, Simon's attention was suddenly brought to the porch. At first, he couldn't tell what was there, but once he reached Miss Miller's property, he realized someone was swinging on the porch swing. The blue clad chipmunk jogged up to the front gate, pushed it open as quietly as he could, and made his way up the cobblestone walkway, hoping to get a better look at the person on the swing. Reaching the steps, he was able to see the person's face clearly, and a smile broke across his face when he recognized the person in the swing.

Rocking back and forth, Jeanette peacefully read her book, sticking her nose right into the middle of it. She was so absorbed in the story that she hadn't even noticed the bespectacled chipmunk as he stepped up onto the porch. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Simon stared at Jeanette and drank in her beautiful appearance. Jeanette wore purple sandals, plaid purple shorts, and a dark purple V-neck shirt. Her brown hair, out of its typical bun, was pulled back, half of it done in a small bun while the rest cascaded down past her shoulders to her chest. Her skin had a light colored texture and seemed to glow right before his eyes.

Simon's smile grew even bigger as he watched Jeanette read her story. Her emerald green eyes glanced over the pages at lightening fast speed, and her tongue stuck out slightly and curled over her the corner of her top lip. Her pink-rimmed glasses subtly slipped down her nose, and without taking her eyes away from the page, she used her finger to push them up to the bridge of her nose. Simon could really tell she was into the novel. She was so focused, and it seemed as if nothing could take her away from the book.

When she made it to the end of the page, Jeanette quickly tucked her finger under it and turned it over to the next page. She then took a loose hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, causing a soft sigh to escape from Simon's lips. Watching Jeanette, he just couldn't help but think how cute and amazing she looked when she was reading a good book. It was such a normal, everyday activity, yet it made the bespectacled chipmunk smile even brighter. If he could, he would just sit back and watch her read all day. Of course, he knew he couldn't do that. After all, Jeanette hadn't called him just so he could watch her read.

Knowing he had to get her attention, Simon tiptoed up to the clueless chipette and hovered over her right shoulder. He glimpsed down at the page she was reading and then turned his attention back to her as he lightly tapped her shoulder. Jeanette, not expecting the sudden contact, had jumped in her place. The swing rocked violently as she tried to recover from the scare, light irritation slowly creeping into her body.

"Brittany," she said calmly, placing her book in her lap. "How many times have I told you not to…"

Her sentence instantly caught in her throat and her anger faded away when Jeanette looked up and realized it wasn't her sister who had disturbed her. Simon, with a small grin, stood a foot away from her and greeted her with a sheepish wave of his hand. Casting her gaze down to the ground, the purple clad chipette began playing with a lock of her hair, and a dark blush overcame her face as she bit her lower lip. She felt so embarrassed for mistaking Simon for her older sister, but she didn't expect him to be at her house so soon. That, and the blue clad chipmunk had a way of turning her face into a giant tomato.

"I'm so sorry, Simon," she said sincerely. "I thought it was Brittany wanting to ask me another dumb question. I didn't know…"

"It's okay, Jean," he interrupted as he sat next to her and placed his textbook on his lap. "It was my fault anyway. I shouldn't have frightened you like that."

With that said, Jeanette couldn't help but smile. She lifted her head up again and looked into the chipmunk's gray-blue eyes, her face becoming even redder as she stared into them. Bringing her book up from her lap and holding against her chest, she looked back down again, feeling a strange emotion build up within her belly. The feeling wasn't a complete surprise, for lately, every time she was with Simon, she would feel the same unrecognizable sensation. She often wondered what it could be but was always unsuccessful in figuring it out.

"So, what's that you're reading?" the bespectacled chipmunk asked, breaking the chipette's train of thought.

Hoping the blush in her cheeks had gone down, Jeanette looked back at Simon and found him pointing his finger at her book. She could see the curiosity in his eyes, so she answered, "It's a biography of my favorite playwright, William Shakespeare."

"Cool," Simon said as he drummed his fingers against his biology textbook, "You must really enjoy reading it. I know how much you love his plays, and you seemed to really be into it when I came up here."

"I was."

The bespectacled chipette took the book away from her chest and held it in both of her hands. The outside cover was colored black, and the title on both the front cover and the spine was done in cursive gold. Since she got the book from the library, the corners of it were bent and pages were slightly worn.

"It's so fascinating to read about Shakespeare's life," she went on as she stared at the book. "The book also talks about all the plays he had written in his lifetime. When you got here, I was reading about _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, and what was going on in his life as he was writing it."

"That sounds really great, Jean," the chipmunk smiled.

Nodding her head, Jeanette's only reply was a quiet, "Uh huh."

A silence soon grew between the two teenagers, for they both were unsure of what to talk about next. They both looked away from the other but still watched each other out of the corner of their eyes. When she saw Simon scratch the back of his neck, another blush crept into Jeanette's cheeks, and the feeling inside her belly grew a little more. The feeling was such a mystery to her, and she really wanted to know what the feeling was. Pondering on the matter, she took a lock of her hair and twirled it around her finger.

Meanwhile, as she played with her hair, Simon couldn't help but watch her. Her movements were just so hypnotizing. It was almost impossible for him to look away. She looked so beautiful with her head turned away from him, which let more of her shiny hair fall past her shoulder. He could feel his cheeks grow warm, so he quickly shook his head to get rid of all of his thoughts.

"So, um…" he spoke up as he turned his head back to her. "Should we go inside? You still need help with that Biology homework after all."

When Simon broke the silence, Jeanette's imaginings had disappeared, and she immediately turned her head to look back at him. At first, she seemed to stutter for words, but after a moment, she finally said, "Oh…sure, of course. Let's go."

Jeanette was the first to stand up and walk towards the door, but she was soon followed by Simon, who got up next and left the porch swing wobbling in all different directions. The chipette was about to place her hand on the doorknob, but Simon, who had fast walked to the door, had reached the knob first and, in one quick motion, had opened the door for her. With a polite grin, he motioned for her to enter first, and as she walked through the door, she gave him a nod of recognition and thanks. Simon entered after her and closed the door behind him, observing his surroundings as he did so.

The interior of Miss Miller's house was built very similarly to the Seville's home. The pair came into an open room about the same size, and the area led to all of the rooms of the house including a staircase, which led to the bedrooms. The only differences were the walls were painted yellow, dark pink curtains hung from the windows, and flowers were placed on almost every piece of furniture. Simon's nose twitched a little as he took in the scent of tulips and daffodils.

"Miss Miller!" Jeanette shouted as she placed her book on a piece of furniture. "Simon's here!"

Out of nowhere, Miss Miller excitedly popped her head out of one the rooms and giggled hysterically as she walked into the open space. Though the loving, yet crazy Miss Miller was a much older woman, her sense of fashion, as well as her out of this world personality, had not changed in the least. Wearing a pink dress, pink heels, and a really bright pink boa around her arms, she still looked liked the wild and sassy old lady Simon had grown attached to. He recalled all the times Miss Miller had babysat him and his brothers when they were just kids. He also thought about how Miss Miller often forgot what each of them liked to eat and how she never seemed to hear them when they tried getting her attention. To the chipmunks, she was way too old to be taking care of them, but despite the bad hearing and memory, Miss Miller was still a sweet woman and was almost like a mother to them.

After primping the poof of gray hair on the top of her head, Miss Miller looked at the bespectacled chipmunk and said enthusiastically, "Simon, dear! It's so nice to see you again!"

Without a second thought, Miss Miller grabbed hold of Simon's cheeks, and squeezed them as hard as she possibly could. If Simon thought Alvin's noogies were torture, he had been very mistaken. When she pinched his cheeks, she pinched like an agitated king crab, her nails digging into his skin nearly causing them to bleed. A full thirty seconds had gone by when she finally let go, leaving his cheeks dark red and swollen like balloons. Simon instantly started rubbing his cheeks slowly to help ease the pain.

"Uh…nice to see you, too, Miss Miller," he groaned.

Miss Miller quickly looked up and down the chipmunk's stature and said in awe, "Oh, Simon! I just can't get over how grown up your getting!"

"Thank you, Miss Miller," Simon said politely. "That's very…"

"And not just you, dear!" the elderly woman interrupted. "Your brother's are becoming fine young men as well!"

Before going on, she turned her attention towards her daughter and smiled lovingly at her. She looked Jeanette over the same way she did Simon as she said, "And my girls have really blossomed into such beautiful and delicate flowers. It amazes me how fast time goes by."

At that moment, Miss Miller looked the other way, her sweet, happy expression replaced by a blank, dazed stare. Simon and Jeanette turned their heads in the same direction Miss Miller had turned hers, trying to figure out what she was looking at. However, all they saw was a yellow wall and a picture of Miss Miller when she was younger. When they turned back to each other, they both wore a look of utter confusion as they arched their eyebrows.

"It seems like only yesterday you all were eight years old," Miss Miller continued, startling the pair. "I can just see it now: Alvin and Brittany fighting and bickering over the silliest things, Theodore and Eleanor baking delicious cookies and making a mess in my kitchen, and you two studying your hearts out to get the best grade possible."

Suddenly, light tears started to trickle down Miss Miller's face, and her nose turned the lightest shade of scarlet. Her dark eyeliner ran down her cheeks as more tears fell from her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away before the two teens could notice.

"Before you know it, you'll all be jumping into the real world," she said between sniffles. "You'll move out and leave me and David all alone in two big empty houses…then, you'll have families of your own…and David and I will be grandparents…"

As Miss Miller's sentence trailed off, the room was filled with an eerie, ear piercing silence. Though the chipmunk and chipette wanted to break this awkward moment, they just couldn't seem to find the words to do so. Then, out of the blue, Miss Miller raised her hands and cried out, "Ohhhhh, my babies are growing up!"

A waterfall of tears ran down her face as Miss Miller wept harder and louder. She covered her face with her hands and quickly made her way out of the room and into the kitchen. Though in another room, Simon and Jeanette could still her obnoxious sobbing and her trumpet like noises as she blew her nose.

"My babies!" she kept crying. "My babies!"

Listening to the old woman bawl, the teens turned to look at each other, both shocked by Miss Miller's impulsive mood swing. Yet, they also felt heartache for Miss Miller's sorrow. Even though she wished for them to stay kids forever, they _were_ growing up, and there was nothing she or anyone else could do to change that.

"Poor Miss Miller," Jeanette said sympathetically. "Ever since we started high school, she's been acting like this, and it's been getting worse."

"Wow," Simon replied, scratching the back of his head. "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but I can't even imagine what she'll do once we all graduate."

"Oh, believe me, I've thought about the same thing. The poor woman will probably be balling her eyes out as she watches us get our diplomas."

"Yeah."

The chipmunk and chipette turned their heads and stared off in the direction Miss Miller had taken off. Another silence had come between them, and neither was sure what to say next. It wasn't until a minute later that Simon turned back to Jeanette and broke the silence.

"So…do you want to start on that Biology homework now?" he asked.

Jeanette turned her head to look at Simon again, a light blush creeping into her cheeks, and said, "Oh…um…okay…but I still need to get my textbook. If you want to go ahead and go up to my room, I'll be right behind you."

"Sure, Jean. See you in minute."

Jeanette gave Simon a quick smile, which he returned without any hesitation, before leaving the room to search for her textbook. Once she had disappeared into another room, the blue clad chipmunk turned on his heels and started jogging up the stairs. He had been in the Miller house many times, so he knew how to reach his destination. Reaching the top of the steps, he took a right into the hallway and headed down to the very end towards the chipette's bedroom.

Upon reaching the room, Simon walked slowly into the lavender painted and purple-carpeted bedroom and took a moment to observe his surroundings. Jeanette's room was always unbelievably clean and organized, having shelves upon shelves of novels and classic Shakespearian literature on the far side and a shelf of achievement awards to the right of the entrance. Her closet was next to the bookshelves, arranged from dresses and skirts to sweaters and heavy coats. Her oak dresser sat right across from her purple-sheeted bed, which sat against a satin curtained window.

Light shined dimly into the room as Simon placed his textbook on the purple bed and continued looking around Jeanette's room. He eyed the books with much interest and began scanning through the shelves at each title of the books. He needed to glance through something while he waited for the chipette to meet up with him. Eventually finding an appealing title, he pulled out the last book on the second shelf. The dark blue book looked very worn, for the pages were a yellow tint and the title on the cover had faded slightly.

Of course, Simon never judged a book by its cover, so he quickly opened it up and was surprised to find that the book opened so easily, as if it were already bookmarked. It was then that he saw it, a small white envelope right in the middle of the book. The bespectacled chipmunk hesitantly took it in his hand and placed the book back in its place. He held it in both hands, trying to figure out how long the envelope had been in the book. It must not have been long considering the envelope's color.

When he turned it over to look at the front of the envelope, he held his breath, as his eyes grew big. There was one word, written in dark purple ink; on the envelope…and it was a name…that jerk's name…Jeremy.

Simon clenched his hands around the envelope, anger and confusion seeping into his veins. He just didn't comprehend the situation. Why would Jeanette have an envelope addressed to her ex-boyfriend? Why would Jeanette even acknowledge his existence after what he did to her? Had she completely lost her mind? So many questions ran through his mind as his curiosity began to get the best of him. He knew it was wrong to look through someone else's belongings without his or her permission, but he couldn't help himself as he began tearing through the envelope's opening.

Opening the envelope and lifting the torn flap, Simon quickly stuck his hand into the envelope and pulled out a piece of lavender stationary paper folded in half. He unfolded the small of paper and realized that it was a letter written only a few weeks ago. Glancing at the paper, curiosity built even more within him as his eyes took in the Jeanette's neat cursive handwriting. He just couldn't take the uncertainty any longer. He had to know what was in the letter, so he began at the top and started reading the forbidden letter.

_March 25, 2010_

_Jeremy,_

_There was a time when I believed in the possibility of finding true love. I would dream about finding the perfect man who would take care of me and love me with all of his heart. I was taught that there could be true love through the fairy tales my mother would read to me every night before bed. She would read about a princess, trapped by the forces of evil, and how a handsome prince came to rescue her in the end. As long as I can remember, I thought there would come a day when I would meet my prince charming and live happily ever after. Exactly one year go, I had thought that you were the man of my dreams, my fairy tale come true…my happy ending…but I was very wrong._

_After almost a year, you decided that you didn't love me anymore. You ripped my heart out and threw it on the ground. You stomped on it, stabbed it with the sharpest knife you could find, and left it to whither and rot. I thought you were my one and only, but all you did was lie to me and made me believe that fairy tales were real._

_Now, I know the truth. There is no such thing as a happy ending. Dreams never come true…and there is no prince charming…not for me. I realize now that I'm an ugly excuse of a person and always will be. There's nothing special or wonderful about me. Nobody loves me…nobody ever will. I will live out the rest of my days alone, crushed by the idea that no one wants me. After all, I am nothing…and I can't change that. To others, I don't even exist. It'll be as if I were dead…maybe it would be better if I were dead and gone. No one would have to worry about me anymore._

_You ruined my life, Jeremy. You're a selfish, unloving, lying, and pathetic excuse of a man. You took away all of my happiness as well as my ability to love and trust another person. There is no happiness or trust in this world. Thanks for showing me what the real world looks like. I hope you're proud of what you left behind, and one day, I pray that you endure the same heart wrenching pain you've caused me._

_Goodbye forever,_

_Jeanette_

After reading the final written words, Simon felt his entire body quiver. He read over the page again and again, completely in awe at the words Jeanette wrote only weeks before. Reading over it a third time, his body lost all feeling as Simon slowly sat down on the bed. His mouth gaped and his breath caught in his throat as he stared blankly at the letter. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his chest, and he quickly hugged the small piece of paper to it to help ease the pain. Unfortunately, it didn't help him feel better.

He closed his eyes, hoping to erase the words from his memory, but the words kept hitting him hard like stone. He couldn't believe that such a short letter could impact his soul in such a strong, harmful way. He could feel Jeanette's hurt and pain for the first time, and for him, it felt like knives digging into every fiber of his being. Imagining Jeanette pouring out her entire soul to that jerk and having him take it from her…it absolutely broke his heart.

Taking the letter away from his chest and opening his eyes, the bespectacled chipmunk glanced through the page one more time, flinching from the new pain he felt in his chest. His eyes looked over the words "ugly" and "nothing" and stopped when he read again, "Nobody loves me…nobody ever will." Having Jeanette believe that she was nothing but an ugly, disgusting person…and that no one would ever want to be with her truly shattered his soul. Looking away, Simon squeezed the letter in his hands, crinkling the delicate piece of paper, and brought the paper back to his chest as the pain spread through his body.

"How can she even think these things?" he asked himself silently. "Why doesn't she see the truth…the real truth?"

Taking the letter away from him and turning his head back to look at it, he thought, "Fairy tales can exist, Jeanette. If you gave me the chance, I would show you that happy endings are possible."

Out of the blue, a familiar voice said, "Sorry for the long wait, Simon, I…"

Frightened by the sound, Simon shot up from his spot on the bed and clenched his hands around the lavender paper, wrinkling it more than before. He stared at the figure in the doorway as panic and guilt spread through his veins, for the figure was none other than the writer of the heart felt letter he currently held in his hands. Simon gulped as he watched her eyes glaze over him.

Jeanette, who had come up after retrieving her Biology textbook, looked back at him, finding his body tense and rigged. She closed the door behind her and placed her book on the clear space of her award shelf as she walked into the room at a snail's pace. Her eyes continued studying the anxious chipmunk and then stopped when they noticed a piece of lavender paper he was holding in his hands. She knew she was the only person with that kind of paper, and in no time at all, she realized what Simon had found.

Taking the piece of paper away from his chest again, Simon watched as Jeanette stopped two feet away from him. His stomach felt queasy, almost as if he were going to throw up right then. He quickly gulped down the urge; his eyes soon fell upon her face. By the shocked look and by the way her eyes started to grow bigger by the minute, he knew she had figured out what had happened. He looked down at the letter then back up at Jeanette, trying to find the right words to say.

In the end, all he could say was, "Jean…I…I…"

"Where did you get that?" she demanded, the tone completely gone from her voice.

"I…I…" he stuttered. "I was…looking through the bookshelf…I picked up a random book and…Jeanette…"

Before Simon could even blink, Jeanette had stomped over to him, closing the distance between them, and snatched the paper for his grasp. Her eyes glanced over the page, her hands tightened around it. She had wrote this letter just a few days after her break up with Jeremy, never intending to send it to him. It was to help her relieve the pain she felt. It did help…but only for a short time.

When Jeanette looked back at Simon, her mouth gaped open, and her lower lip quivering. Many unreadable emotions ran over her face as she stared blankly at him. She couldn't believe that her own friend would invade her personal items. The letter she wrote was never to be opened and read by anyone. Her family wasn't even allowed to see it. As she slowly sat down on her bed, a feeling of betrayal and deceit filled her heart, the same kind she felt after being dumped like trash.

Looking at her emotionless face, Simon tried again to explain what had happened, saying, "Jeanette…I…"

"You weren't supposed to read this…"she interjected quietly. "_No one_ was supposed to read this…"

Without thinking, Jeanette balled up the letter and threw it to the ground as anger started flowing through her like hot magma. Staring at the blue clad chipmunk through narrowed eyes, she said furiously, "I thought you were my friend, Simon…I thought I could have faith in you…how could you embarrass me like this?"

"Jean…I…I'm sorry," he said, frightened by Jeanette's sudden change in mood. "It's just…my curiosity…it got the better of me and I just…"

"So you thought that gave you the right to go through my personal things?" She questioned as she stood back up and pointed her finger at him.

"No, no! I just…I just…"

It was at that moment that Simon, finding himself utterly speechless, slowly closed his mouth and looked down to the floor. He felt his heart sink down to his stomach as he shut his eye tightly and shook his head from side to side. He was so ashamed of himself. He was so caught up in the temptation the envelope carried that he didn't even think about how reading the letter would hurt Jeanette. How could he possibly be forgiven for such a treacherous act?

As she watched the bespectacled chipmunk look away from her, she knew he couldn't explain his actions. Breaking the short pause, Jeanette, her anger lightened but still present within her, said, "Simon…I can't believe you would do this to me…I wrote that letter in the confidence that no one would ever see it…It was my only way to escape reality…to express all of the feelings I hid from my family and friends those first few days after…he…"

Unable to form the words to continue, Jeanette slowly sat back down on the bed, her gaze blank and empty. She felt her body numb, and her mind soon became clouded, incapable of thinking rationally or logically. Then, like a lightening strike, pain struck her chest and entered her heart, causing her to flinch and clench her hands into fists. The pain quickly worked its way through her entire body as memories and detailed images flooded through her mind. She clenched her eyes shut as scenes played across her subconscious.

The first mental picture was of Jeremy sticking a neatly folded note into her jean pocket and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. The next image came quickly, fast-forwarding to when she took the note out of her pocket and read it with a smile. The chipette wanted to open her eyes and rid her mind of the painful memory, but she couldn't help but watch herself as her smile quickly disappeared. After reading the last few lines, she realized the relationship was over and that Jeremy felt nothing for her anymore. One final scene soon replaced the previous one. It was of Jeanette balling up the note and crying her eyes out as she got out of her seat and ran out of her first period classroom.

Recalling the heart slashing memories, tears immediately started falling down the chipette's face as she lay down in bed and curled up into a ball. She tried so hard to hide her emotions, to keep the pain inside of her, and there were days when she succeeded. But, there were more days when she just let everything spill out. She just couldn't help it. It hurt so much to remember what Jeremy had done to her. He was her first love, and he had broken her heart, the one she so willingly gave to him. She felt so stupid for trusting him and felt embarrassed that someone was watching her as she broke down and cried like a baby. Jeanette hated when she couldn't be strong.

Simon watched in horror as Jeanette sobbed into her bed sheets. Seeing her helpless and shaking form made him feel worse than he had before, for he knew that the chipette's current state was his doing. After all, if he hadn't of read that letter, Jeanette wouldn't have thought about that jerk and wouldn't have been weeping in her bed. He should have just put the letter back where he found it and never should have let his curiosity take over. His hands tighten into hard fists as anger, most of which was directed toward himself, began burning through his bloodstream.

Knowing he had to help the poor chipette, Simon slowly wrapped his arms around Jeanette and pulled her up into his chest. Jeanette pressed her face into the soft fabric of the chipmunk's vest as he tightened his grip around her waist. He buried his face into her hair and hoped that the embrace would soothe her pain in some way.

"Shh…Jean, it's okay," he soothed. "Please don't cry anymore…everything is going to be okay."

Gently pulling her away from him, Simon brought his left hand up to her small, delicate face and tenderly wiped the salty tears away. Jeanette, though a little surprised by his action, did not protest as his fingertips lightly touched her cheekbones. She didn't understand why, but his touch seemed to make her feel a little better, but unfortunately, once she started crying, she just couldn't find a way to stop. She looked away from Simon as more tears fell down her face.

"I'm…s-sorry," she sniffled. "I didn't want you t-to see me…l-like this. It just…it hurts so much."

"I know, Jeanette," the blue clad chipmunk said, rubbing her lower back with his right hand in an attempt to calm her down. "I know it hurts. It's okay to let your feelings out."

Jeanette, blinking back a few tears, turned her head to look at Simon, who brought his left hand back up to wipe away the news tears that fell. She was slightly taken aback when he placed his open hand on her right cheek and was even more stunned to find that she had felt herself fall into it, a weak sigh coming from her lips. Her eyes closed for a brief moment, enjoying the warm feeling of the chipmunk's skin against hers.

"There's more letters," she found herself confessing as she opened her eyes. "I wrote a letter every time I thought about him or the day he decided he didn't love me anymore. I burned a few, shredded a few, and hid a few in places I knew I would never think about looking. I thought writing those letters would bring me to some closure…but…"

When Jeanette's sentence trailed off, Simon stroked her cheek with his thumb and said, "Jeanette…this isn't something you can easily forget. Though I have never been in this kind of predicament, I would imagine that it takes time to heal from your first break up."

"I know, I know," she continued, sniffling again. "I just…I just feel so abandoned…I really thought he would be the one…but I was wrong."

Watching Jeanette's lower lip quiver again, Simon took his hand from the chipette's face and wrapped his arms around her waist. In return, Jeanette wrapped her arms around the chipmunk, one arm around his neck and the other around his upper back. She began to cry quietly as she tightened her grip around him.

"What did I do, Simon?" she asked softly. "What did I do that made him stop caring for me? Why did he stop loving me? How did I drive him away?"

"Jean, you didn't do anything to drive him away," Simon replied.

With her head rested against Simon's left shoulder, Jeanette tried with all her might to hold back the powerful sob she felt coming through her. Her bottom lip quivered more rapidly, and more tears formed at the bridges of her eyelids. She tried as best she could to hold back and be strong. More than anything, she tried to believe that Simon was telling her the truth. After all, she couldn't have pushed Jeremy away. She had done all she could to make him happy.

However, her strength and Simon's words were no match against the second wave of pain and torment that crashed into her hard and fast. In a matter of seconds, heavy cries broke from her mouth as she buried her face into the crook of Simon's neck.

"I must have!" she cried into his neck. "He stopped loving me, so I must have done something to make him leave me! I…I must have been a terrible girlfriend! I didn't show him enough love! I wasn't there for him! I wasn't good enough for him!"

At that point in time, Simon nearly lost his nerve as he listened to Jeanette's false accusations. Rage began building within him as questions and thoughts ran though his mind. Why was she saying those things? How could she possibly lie to herself like that? Did she really believe what she was saying? She just couldn't possibly believe those things were true. She needed to know the truth, and it looked like he was going to have to be the one to tell her.

Pulling away from Jeanette slightly and lifting his hand to her face, he forcefully grabbed her chin and turned her head to look at him, angrily saying, "Jeanette Marie Miller, you listen to me right now, and you listen well. You had done nothing wrong. Jeremy was a stupid jerk, who made the biggest mistake of his life by dumping you."

Shocked by the chipmunk's rough actions, Jeanette stared into his gray-blue eyes as if she were seeing him for the first time and was stunned by the fury she could see in them. His voice was harsh, and his body was stiff. She could feel the anger and rage within him, feel it to the point where it almost scared her. In the years they had been friends, she had never seen him like this before.

"It was his own fault for leaving you, Jeanette," he went on. "Jeremy didn't know what he was looking at, Jeanette. He saw through you and never got the chance to see you the way I do."

Surprised by his words, Simon snapped his mouth shut immediately and went silent. He shifted his eyes away from her, unsure whether to keep telling her what he saw in her, or just leave it at those words. Of course, he knew Jeanette would question him about it, but he was still afraid that he would hurt her, that she would feel pressured or wouldn't feel the same way for him. But, as he stared at those emerald green eyes, he knew he couldn't just sit back and let the poor chipette destroy her mind with the lies she had been telling herself over and over again.

Taking in a breath of air and letting it out slowly, the bespectacled chipmunk looked back at Jeanette's confused, yet curious, face and said, "Jeanette…I can't stand seeing you bash yourself the way you have been. You…really have no idea how special you are. You're smart, kind, caring, loving, strong, loyal…you have so much to offer to the world, and I believe you are destined to do great things."

Listening to Simon's words, Jeanette was absolutely speechless. She knew that he thought of her as a great friend, but she never expected the blue clad chipmunk to say such nice things about her. So many questions came to her mind. Was he being sincere? Did he really believe she could do such amazing deeds? Or was he just trying to make her feel better about herself? She wanted to ask him all of her questions, but as she opened her mouth, Simon quickly placed his finger on her lips and silenced her.

"Please, let me finish," he continued. "Not only are you capable of so much…of all the people I know…you also have the most beautiful soul I've ever seen. You put others before yourself, you keep promises, and you always find ways to help people. I've never met anyone like you, Jeanette. You're so unique…so incredible…so…so…"

Simon began stuttering on his last sentence as his words got caught in this throat. He wanted to say them so badly, but he was just too hesitant to do so. He didn't want her to think he was trying to push her into another relationship. He never wanted her to feel that way. Yet, he still wanted her to know how he felt. He knew deep in his heart that he had to do it now. After all, when he would get another chance to tell her?

"Jeanette…" he choked out as he closed his eyes. "I want you to know that…that I think…you are the most beautiful girl in the entire world. Any guy would be lucky to have you as a girlfriend…I would…be lucky…to have you as my girlfriend."

Once Simon had finished his sentence, Jeanette's eyes grew to an immeasurable size as the breathing suddenly stopped. She opened her mouth but nothing had come out, making her feel as if she were a mute. The words coming out of Simon's mouth were so inconceivable to her. Was Simon saying what she thought he was saying? Was he about to say what she was thinking he would say? She continued to stare at the bespectacled chipmunk as he opened his eyes to look upon her tense form.

"I meant everything I said, Jean," he said softly. "I…I've wanted to tell you those things for so long…but was just too scared to…but it's time that you learned how I truly feel about you…how I've always felt about you."

Breathing in deeply, Simon's last prayer before letting the breath out was that he hoped the sweet chipette would somehow feel something for him. He closed his eyes again and gulped quietly as droplets of sweat started to form on his brow. Nervousness threatened to claim his body and stop him from his confession, but he mentally shook it off. He was so close to telling her, and nothing was going to stop him now.

Opening his eyes, he said slowly, "Jeanette Miller…I…I…I love you. I've…loved you for the longest time, and I would be truly honored if you felt the same way for me. I want you to know that if you were mine, I would respect, honor, and cherish you because I know that is what you deserve. I'll stick by you, support you, and never leave your side. I'll be there for you until the day I die…as long as you'll have me.

Simon let go of Jeanette's chin as he finished, and all he could do was stare into the emerald green eyes of the girl he loved and hope that his words had impacted her in some way. He had poured his heart and soul to her, taking the biggest risk he had ever taken in his life, and in that instant, he had never felt more terrified. Deep down he wanted the chipette to love him back. He wanted her to tell him that she did feel something for him, but he knew the chance of that happening was slim.

After a full minute of silence, Simon came to the conclusion that Jeanette did not have feelings for him. He looked away from her and solemnly said, "I…I understand…if you don't…feel the same way about me…I just wanted you to know the truth."

Then, as Simon finished speaking, Jeanette's hand suddenly came into his line of sight. She placed her palm gently on his face and slowly pulled his head back towards her. When they finally made eye contact, the bespectacled chipmunk could feel his heart beat racing faster in his chest. He stared into her shimmering green eyes again, wondering what she was thinking about. Could she possibly feel love for him? Does she only see friendship? He was unsure, but he knew he had to prepare himself for anything she had to say.

Meanwhile, Jeanette started caressing his cheekbone with her thumb, as she looked deep into his sweet gray-blue eyes. She didn't know how, but just looking at Simon, she knew that everything he had confessed to her was true. He thought she was beautiful, sweet, and kind, and he would treat her right like a perfect gentleman should. As his words replayed in her mind, the feeling started bubbling in her stomach once again. It was that same feeling she felt only when she was around Simon, and at that moment, it was stronger than it ever had been before. Then, it hit her.

"Could it be?" she whispered to herself.

Simon arched his eyebrow, confused by Jeanette's silent question. He was about to open his mouth and ask her, but before he could utter a single word, Jeanette moved her head forward and closed her eyes. She closed the distance between them fairly quickly, and it was then that their lips softly came together. The chipmunk stared wide-eyed at the chipette, completely surprised by Jeanette's sudden attraction. At first, he didn't know what to do, but as the shock left his system and his body relaxed, he closed his eyes little by little and gently kissed her back.

All of a sudden, as quickly as it began, the kiss ended as Jeanette pulled away slowly, opened her eyes and looked at the chipmunk, who opened his eyes and stared back at her as well. She recalled the feeling inside her getting stronger as her lips touched his, and then, she remembered the spark that went off within her body just seconds before she stopped the kiss. Simon, too, had felt a spark in him he had never felt before, and he realized, at the same time Jeanette did, that he wanted to feel that spark again.

So, without faltering, the chipmunk and chipette closed the distance between them again and began kissing each other more passionately. Having a mind of their own, Jeanette's hands moved over Simon's arms and were soon placed around his neck. She ran her fingers through his soft, silky hair as Simon snaked one arm around her waist and the other around her upper back and brought her closer to him.

As the fervently kissed one another, the two young teens felt the sparks go off inside of their bodies. The sparks grew in power and strength, and as their excitement grew to its peak, fireworks started shooting off and exploding within them. Jeanette was completely amazing by the overpowering feeling. She had never in her life felt such an incredible emotion in her life, not even with Jeremy. It was in that instant, as the pair continued making out and moving their lips that the chipette answered her question. Though hidden for a long period of time, it was love that she felt for Simon, deep, strong love meant only for that one special person. She hated that it took her years to figure it out, but in the end, time didn't matter. She was in love. There was no more denying it.

Finally breaking the kiss, the breathless chipmunk and chipette pulled away, opened their eyes and look at one another, a smile on both of their faces. Simon couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only had he found the courage to tell Jeanette he loved her, but it seemed that she had also found that she felt the same way for him as well. Whatever had changed her mind, he was happy that she did. There was no counting how many times he imagined what it would be like to kiss Jeanette's soft, sweet lips. It turned out to be a million times better than his fantasies.

"Wow," she sighed. "I…don't believe it."

"What don't you believe?" Simon asked curiously.

With her smile growing bigger, Jeanette answered, "That all this time…all this time, it was you that I had been missing. I can't believe I was so blind…I couldn't see that the perfect guy for me…was right here in front of me…the whole time."

Simon chuckled lightly as he brought his hand from her waist to her cute face and tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear. He, then, stroked her cheek, taking in the feeling of her velvet skin against his fingertips, and said, "Jeanette…if you decide you want to be with me, I promise never to leave you. I know in my heart that you're my other half, and I would never be stupid enough to let you go. You _are _my heart and soul. I don't know what I would do without you in my life. I'll always be there for you, Jean…I promise."

The blue clad chipmunk sealed his promise with a long, tender kiss. As their lips parted, Jeanette felt a rush of relief run through her, as if a huge weight were lifted from her shoulders. At that moment, she had never felt so happy. Light tears of joy fell down her face, for she knew with Simon, she would never have to worry about getting hurt again. She knew that she could trust him with her heart, and he would always be there to help her weather any challenge that comes her way.

"I love you, Simon," she sniffled.

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Simon said, "I love you, Jeanette…more than anything."

With happiness in their hearts, the new couple wrapped their arms around each other and held each other close. Laying her head on his shoulder, Jeanette knew nothing would ever come between them, and as Simon looked towards the bedroom window, he knew they would always be together now and forever. It was in that second that he saw them, two birds perched on a tree outside the Miller household, both singing softly and sweetly as one nuzzled her head against the male's chest. As their song drew to a close, they took off from the branch and took the to sky, flying higher and higher as they began a new life, one they would share together.

"Just like you and I will, Jeanette," Simon thought as he looked down upon her and held her close, "until the end of time…I promise."


End file.
